Sam Shade

I'm dumping heaps of this stuff on my hugel mounds - great for filling in the cracks.  I'll report back on how things grow.  Planting kale and mallow.

Haven't seen wax myrtle mentioned yet.  Not fully edible but useful at least and evergreen at least down to zone 7.

That plus elaeagnus, pyracantha, hawthorn,  gooseberry and osage orange are part of my living hedge plans

I have tons of box elder and silver maple at my place in Memphis but nobody taps out here.  Need to educate myself

Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier. Opened my eyes to a hundred new possibilities.

Tree Crops by Russell Smith for big picture planning.

I'm considering  hedging in my front yard (primarily to keep the dog and possible future sheep in, but also to keep people out as I live in an urban area).

The challenge I have is that there are so many mature trees, including a gigantic oak, several massive loblolly pines and a handful of pecans with very wide canopies that there isn't the full sun environment.

I'm currently leaning towards Washington Hawthorn with pyracantha and gooseberries to fill in some of the shadier areas.

Hawthorn's primary selling point is that you can get seedlings from state nurseries for under $1 each.

Rico Loma wrote:Eric hits a bullseye,  right on the mark , Osage orange is a phenomenal tree.  Besides quality fuel, it has other superpowers

It's also known as bow wood, reputed to make perfect durable bows for indigenous cultures in the US. Tough, flexible,  almost like spring steel

All of the strange green fruit is useful, according to a farmer I know in the Blue Ridge of Virginia.  He says it can dry out in a barn or house attic and prevent insects and critters..... flying squirrels,  mice, red squirrels........from living indoors.   Two or three years of prevention, amazing how our natural world offers gifts every day

If it can deter roaches my daughters will love it for life.

I haven't seen anyone mention cherry. I have a lot of black cherries and chokecherries on my land - I tend not to like them because the foliage isn't useful as goat fodder. But they make excellent firewood. Beautiful wood too. And they respond well to pollarding.

Along with mulberry, it supplies my modest firewood needs.

randal cranor wrote:

Sam Shade wrote:You can find a surprisingly wide variety of imported kei trucks...  just got me one of these.

They are the Swiss army knives of small farm vehicles. You can get them registered in most states. You can drive them around the farm like a side by side.  You can flip it into 4 wheel drive and go off in the bush.  You can cart around small animals. You can quiver in fear as you floor it to go 40mph on a busy highway as 18 wheelers fly by going 70.

Sam,
Where did you purchase your KEI? Price?

This is the type of vehicle I would be most interested in, although may not be able to license to drive on all Oregon roads yet

I found mine on Facebook marketplace. Cost me $7k, so not exactly cheap for a 25+ year old vehicle, but that's a pretty typical price for one with a state title in my area (TN). You can get them cheaper if you are willing to do more paperwork.

But I love it. Can go anywhere except the freeway.

I have two peaches and two nectarines.  Hugely productive but the bugs get pretty much all of them.  Gonna try running the chickens under them this year to break the cycle.

Cameron Green wrote:I am interested in trying an edible variety that will be left in my greenhouse in 7 B.  Please contact me if anyone has them available for sale or barter.  Thank you.

Remind me this fall, I should have some.